en public specific orginal article <div style="text-align: justify;"><span style="font-size:11pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span calibri="" style="font-family:"><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Background:</span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">&nbsp; Nitrite and nitrate salts are used as preservatives in meat products to prevent the growth of pathogen organisms such as <i>Clostridium botulinum.</i> Nitrogen salts additives create the desired color in meat products. However, the use of these salts accelerates nitrosamine production and increases the risk of carcinogenesis. Hence, nitrate and nitrite consumption rate should be according to the approved standards. This analytical study is designed to determine nitrate and nitrite residue of non-heat-treated meat products including hamburger and kebab in East Azerbaijan Province, Iran during 2015-2020. <b>Methods</b>: 120 samples of </span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">non-heat-treated meat products</span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times=""> from different brands were </span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">randomly </span></span></span><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">collected. They consisted of 60 products manufactured in East Azerbaijan province and 60 products imported from other provinces.&nbsp; Nitrate and Nitrite residues in non-heat-treated meat products including hamburger and kebab were determined by spectrophotometric method. <b>Results: </b>Results showed that the residue levels of nitrate and nitrite content regarding non-heat- treated meat products were less than maximum residual limits (MRLs) of national standards. The study also indicated that frozen non-heated meat products did not have any nitrogenous additive. </span></span></span><b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">Conclusion: </span></span></span></b><span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span new="" roman="" style="font-family:" times="">The results of this research revealed that the frozen non-heat treated meat products including hamburger and kebab, produced or consumed in East Azerbaijan province during 2015-2020 did not have nitrate and nitrite additives. Continuous monitoring to ensure the compliance of meat products with the standards is necessary.</span></span></span> <span style="font-size:10.0pt"><span style="line-height:115%"><span style="font-family:"Times New Roman","serif""></span></span></span></span></span></span><br> &nbsp;</div> Non-heat treated meat products, Hamburger, Kebab, Nitrate, Nitrite, East Azarbaijan 102 107 http://jnfs.ssu.ac.ir/browse.php?a_code=A-10-445-1&slc_lang=en&sid=1 Marzie Hejazy mhejazy@ut.ac.ir 0000-0002-789-2928 Yes Basic Science Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran Roghayeh Norouzi 0000-0002-5013-6235 No Pathobiology Department, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran; Farzin Javid 0000-0002-2710-2416 No Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Islamic Azad University of Tabriz, Tabriz, Iran.